Run, Hide, or Die
by Stahlfan125
Summary: Danielle told the survivors that they could either run, hide, or die when the Others came. When the Others DO come, they find out how right she was. Contains spoilers for season 2. Oneshot. Skate, Shoone, CC, SunJin, JackAnaLucia


This is just a weird fic that I wrote on night from like...10:30 at night to 2 in the morning. Me and my insomnia would just NOT let it go!

There's an itty bitty hint of one of my other Lost stories in here. Something pretty small...maybe some people who read that other story will get it. I guess you could call it a spoiler for that story.

This story also contains spoilers for next season. Read only if you want to find out.

Anyways, please review if you like it. I love reviews more than anything.

Enjoy, hopefully!

* * *

**Run, Hide, or Die **

Danielle had told them that when the others came, they could either run, hide, or die. There were only three options. When the time came; when the others appeared, the survivors of Flight 815 found out how true that was.

* * *

Michael and Jack ran. 

They had been on the beach, discussing the survivors from the tail end of the plane, who had been discovered recently. Suddenly, they heard screaming from in the trees, and one of the new women burst out, screaming at the top of her lungs. Moments later, at least five armed men ran out after her. Jack yelled at Michael to run, and the two of them took off down the beach and into the woods, away from where the other men had come from. Behind them, they heard the screaming stop as a blaze of gunfire rang through the air.

"Who the hell are they?" Michael asked Jack, frightened. Suddenly they both stopped as Danielle appeared in front of them, holding her rifle.

"They're the Others," she said. "Hurry."

She turned and ran into the trees, and Jack and Michael had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Charlie and Claire hid. 

They had been sitting on the cave floor, laughing as they played with baby Aaron, when Locke burst out of the trees. He spotted them, along with Steve and Sullivan, and ran over.

"The Others," he said, out of breath and sounding frightened. "They're here."

Charlie stood up immediately. Locke looked scared, and when Locke was scared, then it was definitely cause for concern.

"Where are they?" he asked, taking Aaron in his arms and helping Claire up.

"The beach," Locke replied. "They didn't see me get away. We have to get to the hatch. Get as many people as you can, and follow me."

Steve and Sullivan wasted no time in gathering everyone that was in the caves. Then they ran through the woods in a panic, following Locke towards the hatch.

* * *

Shannon died. 

She was sitting near the water, looking out at the waves and holding Boone's blue shirt to her when she heard the screams. She looked over and saw the woman burst out of the trees, screaming, and she watched as the five armed men followed her and gunned her down. Jack and Michael ran the other way, but the men didn't seem to see them. They just ran in the opposite direction of Shannon, shooting at the scattering survivors before they fled into the trees.

Shannon stood up. She remembered Danielle's words well. Run, hide, or die. She didn't feel like running, and hiding was too hard. Only death was left, and Shannon really didn't mind. She just knew where she wanted to be when she did die.

She started walking towards the little plot of sand, which she hadn't visited since the day they buried her brother there. The men didn't notice her. She was glad, for the moment. She wanted to be with Boone when it ended.

* * *

Kate and Sawyer ran. 

Sawyer had been trying to fall asleep in his shelter, his shoulder still throbbing from when Jack had last changed the bandages, when Kate ran in, out of breath and shaking like a leaf.

"What is it?" Sawyer asked, sitting up; ignoring the pain.

"We have to get out of here," Kate said. "The Others are here."

She knew that he wouldn't get up unless it was something horrible, so she just went out and said it. He stood up quickly, grabbing one of his shirts.

"Where?" he asked.

"Everywhere," Kate replied in a strangled voice. "We have to go now."

"Yeah," he said. He reached under his cot and pulled out the gun that had been hidden there since they had gotten back to the island. He, like many other survivors, had decided that the threat of the Others was over, and they quickly moved back to the beach, grumbling about how the French woman was crazy and how they shouldn't have listened to her in the first place, but he still had that gun. "Where you planning on going?"

"I don't know," Kate said. She was shaking and pale and looked terrified.

"Hey," Sawyer said, putting his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay."

Kate shook her head.

"No, Sawyer," she said sadly. "It's not."

* * *

Sun and Jin hid. 

They heard the gunfire when they were at Sun's garden. After a few moments, Hurley appeared.

"Come on," he yelled. "They're going to the hatch. You guys gotta go too."

"Hatch?" Jin asked. "Locke?"

"Yeah," Hurley said. "Come on!"

"Who's shooting?" Sun asked.

"Those Others that the French chick was talking about," Hurley explained quickly. "Now come on! We gotta go!"

Jin grabbed Sun's hand, and the three of them ran after Hurley, closer and closer to the hatch. Behind them, they heard the Others shouting at each other.

"Look! Over there! The girl!" they shouted. "Get her!"

Gunshots rang out, and then it was silent. Sun just clutched Jin's hand tighter and ran as fast as she could.

* * *

Sayid died. 

He was watching Shannon at the beach when the others came out of the woods. At first he hid in his shelter, listening to the gunfire and the screams. His heart was pounding loud in his ear, and he glanced out around the tarp, searching for Shannon. She was walking slowly towards where they had buried Boone. Sayid felt a stab of jealousy, though he tried to cover it.

She was going to get killed out there, and he knew it. He was no hero, but he knew that if he was silent enough, he could manage to get her into the trees, and they would both be saved. Maybe she would forgive him then.

She had forgiven him, at first. When he had returned with Claire's baby, she had told him that she loved him and only him. Then he had slept beside her that night, and everything seemed to be all right. The next day he noticed that she carried Boone's blue shirt everywhere she went; the one with the cards on it. When she thought he wasn't looking, she would just stare at it. Sometimes, she would bring it up to her lips and kiss it.

He knew, then, that she didn't love him. He knew that she would never love him, because what she felt for her stepbrother was what Sayid himself had felt for Nadya. That was true, only love, and she would never be the same without it again. He could only hope that, in time, she got over it enough to keep a relationship with him going. But, the way things were going, it didn't seem that they had a lot of time.

Creeping out of his shelter, he moved along the trees silently, drawing ever closer to Shannon.

* * *

Michael and Jack followed Danielle through the trees at a breakneck pace, sometimes losing sight of her in the trees, but always managing to find her in the end. At one point, they had to lie in the dirt as an Other passed right by them, pistol held ready. 

"Who are they?" Jack asked Danielle when they were far enough away from the beach that it seemed safe to talk.

"I don't know," Danielle replied. "They were here before me. That is all the information on them that I have."

"How do they still have so much firepower?" Jack asked. "And what about the radio tower? Did they come from there?"

"I don't _know_!" Danielle exclaimed. "I don't know anything!"

Michael just stood by and mentally willed them to keep their voices down.

"Hey, uh, guys?" he said, but it was too late. They were soon surrounded by three of the Others. Danielle turned to the nearest one without hesitation, and fired.

* * *

Charlie reached the hatch right after Locke, with one arm holding baby Aaron, and the other around Claire. The hatch door had been fixed (courtesies of Sayid), and it was currently open to reveal that a sturdy new wooden ladder had been built, leading far down into the blackness. 

"What's down there?" Charlie asked.

"Just go," Locke said. "You and the baby first, Charlie."

Charlie nodded. He wasn't going to screw this one up. He was scared out of his wits, but he would go down first and be brave for Claire. He would do it all for Claire.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. He turned to Claire and smiled. "Right."

She flung her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Be careful," she sobbed. Charlie smiled and hugged her back.

"I will be, love," he said. With a confident smile, he turned and started down the ladder.

* * *

When Shannon got closer to Boone's grave, she saw that the dirt was overturned. She gasped and snapped out of her depressed reverie. Whispering Boone's name, she ran towards it, and saw that there was a deep hole in the ground. Lying half in and half out was Boone's body. 

It hadn't undergone many changes since she had last seen it (she had to say 'it' or else she knew that she would lose her composure.) Boone's face was just pale, and Shannon knew that it would be cold. She walked around the sand towards it, wondering dimly if Vincent had made it into the trees. She didn't know where she had last seen him. It really wasn't the smartest idea for that kid, leaving the dog with her. She just hoped Vincent didn't die, like she was going to.

She kneeled in the sand and gathered Boone's body towards her, glad that the worms hadn't gotten to him. She wouldn't have been able to deal with it if his beautiful face had been changed in any way, especially if worms were eating it. He felt so good in her arms, even though he was cold. His slim waist and his muscular arms fit just right against her body. His beautiful, perfect face stared up at hers, and she wished that his eyes would just _open_.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him, tracing her long thumbnail over his blue lower lip lovingly. "I'm so sorry, Boone. I love you."

And so she sat there and waited for the end.

* * *

Kate and Sawyer charged through the woods, with Sawyer leading the way and Kate following. The gunfire sounded loud and close at first, but eventually it seemed to almost fade away, as they were so far into the trees that they just couldn't hear it anymore. Sawyer stopped and looked around. 

"Hell, I know where we are," he said. "Come on."

They ran for a little while longer, and then burst through the trees into a clearing. Kate's eyes filled with tears when she saw the place. The waterfall and the rocks…the place where she and Sawyer had gone swimming. That was before the Others, before the raft, before Boone's death…that was before all of it.

"Something tells me we're gonna be okay," he said softly. "Come on. Over here."

He held out his hand and she took it unabashedly as they walked over the rocks, towards the waterfall. As they got closer, and Sawyer showed no signs of stopping, Kate looked at him questioningly.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I found this place a few days before I left on the raft," Sawyer remarked. "We're gonna have to go in the water."

Kate shuddered to think of the bodies that lay beneath the surface, but she nodded. Their survival was a little more important.

"Okay," she said. The both of them jumped into the water, clothes and all. Sawyer held the gun high above his head, out of the water. "Where are we going?"

"Here," Sawyer said. They swam through the waterfall, and Kate saw that there was a small cave beyond it.

"Are you kidding?" she asked with a small, amused smile. Sawyer pulled himself up onto the rocky ledge, and put down a hand to help her. She grabbed it, and they both crawled down the small, narrow tunnel. The tunnel made a curve to the left, and then they were in a little cave, just tall enough for them to sit down in.

"I cleaned it out," Sawyer admitted. "There used to be dead grass and stuff in here. As soon as it gets dark, I think it would be all right to go get some good stuff for sleepin' on."

"Okay," Kate said, smiling. "Thanks, Sawyer. For helping."

"Hey, I was just returning the favor that you did me by waking me up. If you hadn't, I'd be dead back there on the beach."

Kate looked down at the ground. She didn't like imagining Sawyer sleeping and getting ambushed and shot, but the images came anyway.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't just let you die, could I?" she replied.

"Yeah, you could," Sawyer retorted. "Everyone else woulda. Even Micky, and I think he's the closest thing to a goddamned friend that I have on this island."

"What about me?" Kate asked with a small smile.

"You? Freckles, I thought you couldn't _stand _me."

"You have your moments," Kate replied, grinning.

"Har, har," Sawyer said sarcastically, smiling as well.

And so they sat there and waited, glad that no matter what might happen, they were with each other.

* * *

Sun, Jin, and Hurley were almost there. The hatch was only a little ways away. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and Jin fell to the ground. Sun screamed. 

"Come on!" Hurley yelled to Sun.

"Go!" Sun yelled. "Go!"

Hurley stood there, torn. Jin was yelling something and bleeding a lot. Hurley felt dizzy. Sun looked at him pleadingly.

"All right," he said, slightly slurred and dizzed, and then he turned and ran.

Sun pulled up Jin. The Other emerged. There was only one. He walked towards her, grinning in a decayed-tooth smile.

"Hello darling," he said, raising the gun. Sun watched, breathing heavily. Then, as he took another step towards her, she flung her arm out, clutching a large rock. It struck the Other in the head, and he swore loudly before falling down. She bent down and grabbed his gun, swinging it and hitting him on the head again. Then again, and again. Jin looked at her with something like admiration.

"Let's go," she said to him in Korean. "We'll find it on our own."

Jin nodded and clutched his wounded arm as they started to run. Sun held the gun in front of her, ready to shoot. It was a rifle, and she knew that she'd never be able to actually hit a target, but its presence made her feel better. Up ahead, they heard people talking. Sun looked at Jin and smiled. They had found the hatch.

* * *

Sayid had positioned himself in front of the grave. Shannon was kneeling on the ground, Boone's still body held limply in her arms. She was crying, and Sayid would have been lying if he said that he didn't feel a lump in his throat at the sight. Boone was always so active and full of life, and seeing him so limp and unmoving in Shannon's arms was saddening. 

"I'm so sorry, Boone," Shannon was whispering. "Please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

Sayid wished with everything that he had that he could just breathe the life back into Boone. Even though he wished that things had worked out better between he and Shannon, he just wanted her to be happy. He knew the feeling of loss all too well.

He looked down the beach. The Others were still killing people down on the other end. They didn't seem to be showing any sign of going down towards he and Shannon. Still, he wanted to be fast. He started walking out of the trees towards her.

* * *

Danielle's bullet hit the first Other in the head, and he fell dead to the ground. Michael delivered a punch to the second one's face, and he fell back, yelling something that Michael couldn't quite understand. The third one raised his gun and fired. Michael fell to the ground. The Other whirled to face Jack, but suddenly a dark figure leapt out of a tree nearby and tackled him. The bullet fired and whizzed harmlessly past Jack's ear. The figure stood up, brushing itself off. Jack looked closely. It was Ana-Lucia, the leader of the tail-end survivors. 

"About time I found you, Jack," she said with a smile. "I've been looking since the shooting started."

Jack didn't smile back. He bent down by Michael, feeling for a pulse. He was dead.

"Shit," he muttered, hanging his head.

"There are many others who have died, and even more who will die by the end of this day," Danielle said. Jack immediately thought of Kate.

"Isn't there any way to stop them?" he asked, referring to the Others.

"No," Danielle said sharply.

"There's a way to stop everybody," Ana-Lucia retorted. "My men are waiting in the woods. They got supplies. Weapons."

"How?" Danielle asked quickly.

"By killing the Others," Ana-Lucia replied. "How else?"

She picked up the gun from the man she had tackled, and she shot him. Then, she shot the man who Michael had punched. Danielle watched her with admiration and the slightest bit of fear.

"Let's go," Ana-Lucia said. "They're waiting."

* * *

Charlie reached the bottom after close to ten minutes of climbing. When he got down there, he could barely even see the light from above, and couldn't hear anything. He looked around, and found that he was in complete darkness. 

He backed up and walked into something. He held Aaron protectively to his chest, and reached out one hand. It was a metal shelf. His hand roamed the top of it until he found what he was looking for. He picked it up and flicked the switch, not really expecting it to work. When the flashlight _did _turn on, he let out a little yelp of surprise and happiness and spun around to look at everything.

He gasped. It was a huge room, full to the brim with metal cases, all holding guns and flashlights and bullet cases…it was like an army storage thing. Charlie walked around slowly. There were cans of food. Charlie smiled. Whoever had made this place seemed to make it with the survivors of Flight 815 in mind.

With a stab of sudden sadness, Charlie also saw all sorts of medical supplies. He bet that would have been helpful when Jack was operating on Boone. He turned away and looked around some more, stopping suddenly when he saw a long black tunnel in the wall, extending infinitely into nowhere.

"Charlie?"

Charlie whirled around and accidentally shone the flashlight directly in Claire's eyes. She squinted and covered them with her hand, and he quickly lowered the light.

"Hey, sorry about that," he said abashedly. "Here."

He gently passed Aaron to her. She took the baby and smiled at Charlie.

"Thanks for carrying him down, Charlie," she said. "Did he fuss at all?"

"No, he was perfect," Charlie said, smiling. "Now, come on, sit down."

He gently sat Claire down. Before he joined her, he took one of the guns from the shelf and checked to see if it was loaded. It was. He put the safety on and sat down, laying it beside him. Claire smiled at him.

"We're going to be okay, aren't we?" she said. Charlie nodded.

"We're gonna be okay," he repeated. "There's no way we're not."

Claire smiled at him.

"Thanks, Charlie," she said. Charlie smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders hesitantly. Shockingly, she didn't pull away, but she moved into him and leaned her head on his shoulder. He smiled and leaned his head against hers.

No one was going to touch her. Not while he was around to stop them.

* * *

Shannon ran her fingers through Boone's hair, tears spilling over her lashes. Out of one corner of her eye, she saw Sayid creeping out of the bushes towards her. Then, out of the other corner, she saw something that he didn't. One of the Others. She smiled and dropped a kiss to Boone's forehead. Soon it would all be over. 

The Other crept towards her. He thought that she didn't see him. She did. She just held Boone to her, along with his blue shirt, and turned around slowly in the sand. The Other stopped when he saw her, his eyes widening. She must have been a sight. Her hair was wild, and her face was wet with tears. Her hands were dirty, and she was holding the dead body of the man who everyone else thought was just her brother. Above all, she was smiling. No wonder he was frightened.

The Other hesitated. Sayid started running towards her, but then the man raised the gun and fired, and Shannon smiled wider as the bullet pierced her heart.

* * *

Sawyer watched Kate from across the tiny cave. She was still pale and shaky, and her hair was messy. She was looking around nervously, as if not sure where to go. She was also shivering. 

"Hey," he said, to break the silence. "Is it cold, or is that just me?"

"No, it's freezing," Kate said through chattering teeth, smiling slightly. Sawyer nodded.

"Thought so," he said. "Wasn't sure if I was just dying or something. You know, blood poisoning from my arm or whatever."

Kate gave him a look that clearly said that she didn't find him funny.

"It's cold," she said firmly. He smirked and shrugged.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Freckles," he said.

"By talking about you dying? Not funny," she retorted. He shrugged again.

"Hell, I thought you'd find it downright upliftin'. Guess not. Though my arm does feel a little sore…" Sawyer looked down and pretended to examine his shoulder.

"Stop."

Sawyer looked at Kate with surprise when he heard the tears in her voice.

"Kate?" he said uncertainly, shocked at the pain on her face.

"Just stop," she replied in a whisper, closing her eyes. "Don't talk about that, Sawyer. Please."

"Sorry," he muttered. "I was just joking around."

"Sawyer, if you die…" Kate paused and took a gulp. "If you die…I'll be all alone. I really don't like being alone. So just don't talk about it, all right?"

"Freckles, I've been alone all my life," Sawyer replied. "And I don't like it any more than you do. If I can do anything to keep you from being alone, then I will."

Kate gave him a surprised look. After a short moment, she smiled sadly.

"Thanks," she said. She started shivering again.

"Hey," he said after a pause, holding out his hand. "Come here."

"What?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"Over here," he said, gesturing. She gave him a wary look. "I'm not gonna try anything. I just don't like seeing you cold like that."

Kate smiled slightly and slyly slid across the rock floor to sit next to Sawyer. She looked up at him, and for a long awkward moment, she tried to get comfortable against him. His arm was over her shoulder, and she was bunched up tight like a kitten sleeping against its mother. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes.

He didn't see Kate smiling at him with the smile that she used to smile at Jack with.

"Thanks, Sawyer," she whispered, but only loud enough so that she could hear. Then she settled down, her head resting on his chest, and closed her eyes as well, suddenly warm and happy.

* * *

Sun and Jin burst through the clearing. Locke was just pulling the hatch closed. 

"Wait!" Sun yelled. The hatch slowly slid open, and Locke stared at them. Then, he smiled.

"You made it," he said with a grin. "Well…"

He was cut off as suddenly a blaze of gunfire rang out. Sun raised her gun, but never got a shot off. She and Jin fell to the ground, both dead and riddled with bullets. Locke didn't have time to duck before one of the Others got a bullet in his shoulder, and he began to fall.

He managed to grab onto the ladder with his unwounded arm about halfway down the hatch. He yelled out with pain as the momentum wrenched his shoulder.

"Close it!" he yelled down below. "Someone has to close it!"

Charlie, down at the bottom, looked up and saw Locke hanging not too far above. He grabbed his gun, then another, tucking one into his back-pocket.

"Charlie!" Claire exclaimed. "Be careful!"

Charlie just ran towards the ladder and began to scramble up as dexterously as a monkey.

"What happened?" Charlie asked Locke, who had managed to get a good hold.

"Sun and Jin are dead," Locke gasped. Charlie felt a great pain in the pit of his stomach.

"D…dead?" he asked. Sun? No, she couldn't be dead. Not Sun! She was too…sweet!

"Yes," Locke said. "Charlie, you have to get the hatch closed. They'll get in if you don't."

Charlie's face flamed red at that. They would get in? Well, he wouldn't let them. He started climbing again, getting closer and closer to the light up top. Going up was considerably faster than going down, especially without Aaron in his arms.

He pulled out his gun as he saw that one of the Others was peering down. Without another thought, he fired. The man flew back. Charlie practically hurled himself up the last ten rungs, and closed his hand over the hatch handle. Gunfire rang out all around him, and a bullet grazed his arm, but he managed to pull the hatch door closed. Then, with a yell of fury, he locked it.

* * *

Sayid wasn't fast enough. He ran, but the Other fired, and Shannon tumbled to the side. In a display of horrifyingly tragic irony, both her body and Boone's body tumbled into Boone's open grave. 

"Shannon!" he yelled, horrified. The Other looked up, and Sayid saw that his face actually held some amount of remorse on it. He looked…pained.

"She loved _him_, Sayid," he said, and Sayid stopped running.

"What did you say?" he asked, though he had heard the man perfectly well.

"She didn't love you," the man continued. "Which is why she came here in her sleep and dug up his body."

Sayid felt sick. He remembered the night he had found Shannon sleepwalking around the caves, dirty and covered with sand. She must have dug up Boone's body. He was about to say something to the Other, but he never got another word out. The man raised his gun, spat off to the side, and fired.

* * *

Ana-Lucia, Jack, and Danielle all ran through the woods, making their best effort to be quiet. After a long while, they finally reached Ana's people; the tail-end survivors. They met in a clearing in the trees, and were all armed to the teeth. 

"You didn't just get that from the Others," Danielle said.

"We found another airplane a little way away from ours," Ana explained. "Weapons smugglers. We took their stuff. I'd say we've got just enough to beat the Others."

"You're going to try to fight them?" Danielle asked. "You can't fight them."

"We killed three back there," Ana protested. "Daniel and Anthony both killed seven back at the beach. We _can _fight them. You can fight anything that dies."

Danielle stared at her for a long moment, and then she smiled. Jack had never seen the woman smile, and it was certainly not the most pleasant sight to behold.

"We can try," she said. "Perhaps that was our mistake."

"Well, you obviously made a few," Ana-Lucia remarked, smiling. The two women shared an almost companionable glance.

"We did," she said. "But perhaps it isn't too late for us to fix things for you."

"Yeah," Ana said. "Maybe it isn't."

Jack just stood to the side and watched the armed men and women, as they watched him back. He couldn't help but wonder what they were getting themselves in to.

* * *

When Charlie got down to the others, Bernard and Rose were already tending to Locke. Bernard apparently had some kind of medical training. Claire was sitting off to the side, clutching Aaron and looking around with wide eyes. When she saw Charlie, she jumped up and ran to him, throwing one arm around his neck. 

"Oh my God, Charlie, you could have been killed," she said breathlessly.

"Nah, I'm good," Charlie said with a small smile. Claire sensed the lie and pulled away from him, looking him over with worry.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Your arm!"

"Yeah," Charlie said. "Don't worry, it's just a graze."

"You should still have Bernard look at it."

"Yeah, I'll just have him bandage it up when he's done with Locke," Charlie said, shrugging.

"Okay…" Claire said, smiling shyly. "Charlie?"

"Yeah?" Charlie said, glancing at her.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Charlie asked. Claire hesitated.

"I…I know why you went up there," she said. "You did it for Aaron. I wanted to thank you for that."

"Oh," Charlie said, grinning slightly. He shrugged. "I didn't just do it for Aaron, y'know. I did it for you too."

Claire stared up at him, speechless and touched.

"Charlie…" she began, but she couldn't get any further. She felt the tears in the back of her throat. "Thank you."

"No problem, love," he whispered, and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She finally allowed herself to melt into his embrace, and he stood there holding she and baby Aaron lovingly. "The two of you are the only thing that I have in the world right now."

"You're the only thing I have too," Claire whispered. "You and Aaron."

Charlie looked down at her, and he couldn't think of anyone else in the world that he loved more. Smiling slightly, he bent his head closer to hers. When she didn't pull back, he went in for it, and kissed her.

* * *

Shannon awoke on the beach. She was curled into a ball, her fists tight and her breathing heavy. She looked down and saw that she wasn't bleeding. She was unhurt. 

"No!" she sobbed. "No, no! No!"

She started crying, pulling her knees up to her chest. She wanted to be dead! She wanted to be off the fucking island! She didn't want to be there anymore! She had thought that her chance finally came when the Others came, but even _they _couldn't do the job right.

"Hey, Shan?"

Shannon looked up, her eyes widening when she saw Boone on his knees in front of her, watching her with sadness.

"Boone!" she exclaimed, flinging herself towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands went around her shoulders, and he hugged her back, heaving a deep sigh of contentment.

"Shan," he whispered in her ear. Shannon shivered and reluctantly pushed him away.

"Boone, what happened?" she asked, looking around. She could see her shelter. Then she saw Michael and Walt, walking along the beach with Vincent. Sayid was sitting at a fire with some lady that Shannon didn't recognize. "How come I'm not dead?"

"We _are_ dead, Shan," Boone replied, smiling slightly. "We're dead, and this is where we go when we die."

"We stay on the island?" Shannon asked, eyes wide with fear.

"Yeah," Boone replied. "Only it's not the island. There's no polar bears, no fighting, no Others. It's just paradise."

"But what about food? Clothes?"

"Shan, we don't need food now. But if you want…"

Boone bent his hand behind him and pulled up an ice cream Sunday, with chocolate syrup lathered all over it.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "Are we…?"

"Yeah, Shan," Boone replied, grinning. "This is Heaven."

Shannon took the sundae in a shaking hand. Two spoons appeared, and Shannon settled against Boone. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and suddenly they were in a big beach chair, with bathing suits and towels.

"I must be dreaming," Shannon said. She started to put down the sundae, but it just disappeared. She smiled. "I _have_ to be dreaming. Maybe this is one of those hallucinations. You know, when people are near death?"

"Yeah, I know, Shan, but it's not. You're really dead."

He watched her warily, unsure of how she might react when she accepted the truth. He remembered well the night that he watched her sleepwalking to his grave. She had dug up his body, and had just sat there in the sand, holding it and crying. He had never expected her to react that way to his death. He could only imagine how surprised he would be by her reaction to her own death.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean…oh, Boone."

Without warning, she burst into tears. He pulled her close to him, and she sobbed into his chest.

"Hey, Shan, what's wrong?"

"Boone…I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I hurt you. I didn't mean to. I was stupid…stupid to think that I didn't love you. I'm so sorry, Boone. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I could have killed myself when I found out I wasn't there for you."

"Hey, don't worry about me," Boone said sadly. "I'm okay. We're both okay now."

"I love you, Boone," Shannon said.

"Then we can spend forever together," Boone replied, kissing her cheek. "We never have to leave each other again."

Shannon smiled at the thought, and Boone wiped her tears.

"Okay," she said sadly. "I just hope I don't wake up this time."

Boone smiled and held her.

"You won't," he whispered in her ear, and then they settled back to watch the sunset.

* * *

Kate opened her eyes. She couldn't see a thing. For a few terrified moments, she forgot where she was, and then she remembered everything. Sawyer was warm against her side, and she almost snuggled down again before she remembered that they had to go get some bedding materials, and probably food too. 

"Sawyer…" she started, but suddenly there was a hand over her mouth. She started

to scream, but then she heard his rough voice in her ear.

"Shhh," he said. "They're nearby."

She fell silent, and then she heard them. They were outside. Sawyer let go of her mouth and slowly pulled out his gun. She clutched his arm fearfully.

"Sawyer, don't," she said. "They might not find us."

"This is just in case, sweetheart," he whispered in reply. Kate nodded and put her hand on his stomach, waiting. She could almost feel Sawyer smiling at her. "Hey Freckles?"

"Yeah?" Kate asked.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kate replied. "You?"

"Tired. In pain. I've been better, actually, but now I'm okay."

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"Why just now?"

"Cus now I know you're all right."

Kate stared where she thought his face might be, even though she couldn't see it. She felt tears springing to her eyes at the sweetness of it all. How was it possible that Sawyer was _not _being an asshole? Though, if she were to admit it to herself, even when he _was _being an asshole, he was still being cute.

"You're sweet, Sawyer," she said after a long pause in which he worried that she wasn't going to say anything. "I'm glad I'm here with you, more than anyone else."

Sawyer gave a little, quiet laugh.

"Freckles, I don't think I even need to reply to that.

Kate smiled.

"I don't think so," she said. She lay her head down on his chest tentatively, and eased her arm around his waist. "We're gonna be okay."

"Yeah, Freckles," Sawyer replied. "I think we are."

* * *

Sun and Jin awoke near the hatch. It was open, but there were no Others in sight. Jin looked at his arm with amazement. There was only a small red circle where he was shot. He opened his shirt and looked at his chest. A few more red circles were there, but there was no other indication that he had ever been hurt. 

"Jin?" Sun said tentatively. He looked at her and saw the red circle on her temple. He lovingly brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"We're okay, now," he whispered to her in Korean. "We're safe."

"Where are we?" Sun asked.

"Safe," Jin repeated. He took her hand and gently pulled her to her feet. Then, he kissed her.

"I don't understand," Sun said. "We were…here…and…"

"We're safe," Jin said again. That's all he would say. Then, he pulled a small white flower from behind his back and tucked it behind her hair. "And I love you."

"I love you too," Sun said, finally understanding. "Jin…we're dead?"

"Yes," Jin replied. "We're finally at peace."

"Yes," Sun said. The first thing she thought of was Boone. She wondered if he was around somewhere too. "Jin? Can we go to the beach?"

Jin smiled.

"Yes," he said. "Come on. I know the way."

Jin took his wife's hand and led her through the woods confidently, knowing that nothing would ever hurt them or drive them apart again.

* * *

Sayid opened his eyes to find himself lying near his shelter. He sat up and saw a woman looking at him, tilting her head to one side. 

"Hello," she said. He looked at her with recognition, his mouth moving, but finding himself unable to say anything. "Joanna. Remember me?"

She was very cheerful. She smiled at him.

"Yes," he said. "Joanna…"

"Day six. I drowned. That kid, Boone, was the only one who tried to save me."

"Yes," Sayid said. "I remember. Yes."

"I heard your speech at his funeral. It was very touching. Boone probably would murder me if I told you this…" Here, Joanna giggled slightly. "But he cried."

"Boone…?" Sayid said dimly. Then he remembered. Shannon. The Others. "I am…dead?"

"Yeah," Joanna said. "We're in the afterlife now. The Island afterlife. I've been here for quite a while with no one but that Marshall guy and Scott Jackson to keep me company. Oh, and Alex, but she hardly ever shows up."

"Alex?" Sayid said. "Rousseau?"

"Yeah," Joanna said. "She died when she was thirteen. She's the one that told me a lot of you would be coming soon."

"How did she know?" Sayid asked.

"She saw it," Joanna said. "Looked back to Earth and saw what the Others were planning."

"You can look to Earth?" Sayid asked.

"Yes," Joanna said.

"Anywhere?" Sayid asked.

"Yes," Joanna repeated. "Just close your eyes and will it."

Sayid was about to close his eyes when he saw Shannon curled up on the beach, unmoving.

"Shannon," he said breathlessly.

"She's somewhere in that place between life and death," Joanna explained. "She'll die soon."

Sayid cringed, hearing that. He watched as Boone walked up and stared down at his sleeping sister sadly. He could only imagine what the poor boy had gone through, waiting for his sister to arrive. No doubt it had been painful.

He looked away, and saw Michael and Walt walking.

"Walt?" he asked incredulously.

"He blew up the boat he was on, and everyone on it," Joanna replied. "The Others were going to use his powers to try and get themselves off the island. He knew that, and he knew that the Others couldn't be allowed to get off the island. So he killed himself. A big choice for a ten year old to make."

"He must have been very scared without his father here," Sayid remarked.

"For a while, yes," Joanna said. "The only person he knew was Boone. He didn't remember me or the Marshall, and he wasn't friends with Scott at all. But he knew Boone. The two of them would spend all their time together. But I think he's glad to be back with his dad now."

Sayid looked around and couldn't believe what he was seeing. People were popping up like weeds, appearing in shelters, or on the sand. The Others were killing many people. Down the beach, Sun and Jin emerged from the trees, meeting up with an overjoyed Walt and Michael.

"Paradise," he whispered. Joanna nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Paradise."

She smiled at him, and he smiled at her, and Sayid was suddenly glad that he had chosen death.

* * *

Ana-Lucia led the hunt through the woods in the dark, towards the beach. Jack followed with two pistols. Danielle had her rifle and nothing else. The other men and women followed behind, combing the area. 

"We'll surprise them at the beach," Ana said. "Take them out there and follow the ones that escape into the trees." She looked around. "Everyone get that?"

There was no one who said anything otherwise, so she turned and walked on, her gun held ready.

Without warning, they were surrounded. Ana ducked behind a nearby tree and shouted for them to fire. Everyone took cover and fired at their attackers. The tail-end survivors had amazing guerilla tactics, and they displayed them well. The Others had no chance. They fired into the crowd of people, managing to kill a few and wound some others, but they were no match for Ana-Lucia and her men.

Jack, watching her, could only think of that game, Tomb Raider. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was holding her two pistols straight out as she fired, ducked, and rolled her way along the line of Others that seemed to be there just for her purpose of killing. She was just like Lara Croft.

At one point, Jack saw Danielle go down, yelling with fury. He tried to get to her, but she was lost in a sea of carnage. A few minutes later, he felt a blazing pain in his stomach, and everything faded to black.

* * *

Claire sat in the corner with Aaron in her arms, and with Charlie sitting next to her. Rose sat on the other side, watching Bernard bandage up Charlie's arm. 

"You're lucky, Claire," she remarked. "You've got someone like Charlie to look after you."

"Yeah," Claire said, smiling at Charlie. He was talking to Bernard in a hushed voice.

"When you were taken," Rose continued. "I thought that boy would never smile again."

Claire smiled radiantly then.

"I heard," she said. "I'm remembering more now…not much, but still…it's something."

"That's good," Rose said with a smile. "I could help you fill in the blanks a bit, but there's no one better to ask than him."

Claire thought back to when they had kissed, hours before. She had never felt so happy in all her life. She had never felt so safe, so protected. She smiled and absently took Charlie's hand. He smiled back at her.

"All right, love?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm okay."

Suddenly, someone on the other side of the room began to yell something.

"What is it?" Bernard asked, standing up. Locke, who was seated nearby, stood up with visible effort, clutching his shoulder. He sniffed the air.

"Gas," he replied. "I don't know what kind. We have to get out of here."

Hurley ran up to them.

"Dudes," he said. "Those Others. They're coming down that tunnel. We gotta get back out."

"They'll kill us!" Charlie exclaimed. Claire, behind him, was beginning to feel dizzy.

"What are we gonna do?" Bernard asked. But it was too late. From down the tunnel, they heard the gunfire start. That was when Claire was killed, the poison gas filling her sensitive lungs, as she held baby Aaron in her arms.

Charlie didn't have time to worry. A few moments later, he fell down beside her, chest full of bullets, and he just barely managed to move his hand around her waist and lay his head against her chest before dying.

* * *

The Others seemed to be gone. Kate and Sawyer waited for quite a while, silent and watchful. After a long time, Sawyer said that it would probably be okay for them to go out and get stuff to eat. He crawled along the tunnel first, and she followed him, whispering at him to be as quiet as possible. 

They were almost to the entrance when Sawyer noticed something odd. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but then he noticed that it was that the ground wasn't just wet…it was sticky.

"What the hell…?" he began, but then, a bright light shone in his eyes, and he found himself looking into the smile of the same Other who Sun had clobbered with the gun. His head was covered in blood, and it was dripping steadily onto the ground. Sawyer pulled out his gun, but the Other was faster. He got off two shots before Sawyer slumped to the ground. Kate stifled a scream and lashed out, grabbing the gun from Sawyer and shooting the man in the face three times. The man slid out of the tunnel and into the water noiselessly.

"Sawyer?" Kate sobbed, grabbing him by the leg and dragging him back along the tunnel. She grabbed the flashlight that the Other had been carrying, and when they got back into the little cave, she flicked it on.

There was blood everywhere. Sawyer was breathing, but barely, and he was bleeding so much that Kate wasn't even sure exactly where his wounds were.

"Guess I was wrong, huh, Freckles?" Sawyer said painfully, coughing pitifully.

"No, no, it's okay," Kate said, tears flying to her eyes. "You couldn't have known."

"Naw, I was stupid," Sawyer agued. "What about you, Freckles? You hurt?"

"No," Kate whimpered. Sawyer nodded.

"Good," he said. "Guess I was good for somethin' then, huh?"

Kate tried and failed to stifle a sob. She put her hand in Sawyer's hair and leaned over him, checking his pulse.

"You're okay," she said, trying to convince herself more than anything else. "You're going to be fine."

"I don't know about that, Freckles," he laughed. Then he grew serious. "Looks like you're gonna have to be alone, now."

"No, Sawyer," Kate sobbed. "Sawyer, you can't."

"I don't wanna," Sawyer said. "Believe me. Where I'm goin', I'm gonna bet you ain't gonna see me again."

Kate wiped her tears and shook her head.

"No," she said. "No, Sawyer, don't talk like that."

"You know…I'm real glad you came with me instead of the doc," Sawyer said, his voice getting quieter by the minute. "Always thought you'd have gone with him. Hell, probably couldn't find him, right?"

"I didn't look for him," Kate responded. "I went right to you."

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better," Sawyer said. "It's all right. I never expected to die happy."

Kate bent down and gently pressed her lips to his. She expected a hungry, burning passion to erupt from Sawyer, but instead he only parted his lips very slightly. She pulled away, and he smiled sadly.

"Sawyer?" she said uncertainly.

"Glad it was better than I thought it would be," he said. "Now I really do get to die happy."

He smiled, and reached into his pocket. Then, he slowly pulled out the letter.

"Sawyer…" Kate sobbed.

"Do me a favor, Freckles, and burn this for me, okay?"

Kate nodded and reached into his other pocket, taking out his lighter.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Sorry, Freckles," Sawyer said sadly. "I screwed up…" he broke off into a hiss of pain. "…A lot. I guess I coulda gotten things moving a lot faster if I hadn't been such an asshole. But I just wanted to let you know that if we had played I Never now…I woulda drank when I said I never been in love."

Kate's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"I love you too, Sawyer," she whispered. Sawyer smiled, and then he was gone.

* * *

Sun and Jin stood in the shade of their shelter. Jack had arrived. Then came Claire and Charlie and Locke and Rose and Bernard and all the others who had been hiding in the hatch. Jack was in denial. He kept looking for Ana, but she was nowhere to be found. 

"We're _not _dead," he would say firmly whenever someone tried to tell him what was going on. Finally, Sayid just went and tore Boone away from Shannon for a few seconds. Jack just stared at him, shocked.

"Hey, Jack," Boone said with a smirk. "About time you got here. Marshall and Scott suck at golf."

He held up some golf clubs and smirked again. Behind him, Shannon laughed happily.

"But…" Jack said.

"Oh, shut up and let's play," Boone said, throwing him the bag. Jack's reaction wasn't fast enough and it hit him in the chest. When he felt no pain, he looked up at Boone, his mouth working with confusion. "Okay…when you get used to this, _then_ let's play. I want a challenge."

He laughed and walked off, taking Shannon's hand as they went. Sayid smiled at Jack.

"I don't understand," Jack said slowly.

"Not much of a religious man, are you, Jack?" Sayid asked, grinning again. Jack just stared at him. Sayid laughed and walked off, leaving Jack to his confusion.

* * *

Charlie and Claire sat at the beach, looking out to the endless ocean. 

"Where's Aaron?" Claire asked, feeling a faint glimmer of worry. "Didn't he die?"

"Guess not," Charlie said, shrugging. "But he'll be here eventually. Maybe he'll even be grown up. Maybe you'll get to see what he gets to be. You wouldn't want him to die right away, would you?"

"But who would raise him?" Claire asked. She felt a faint stab of fear. What was it that the psychic had said? The child could not be raised by another.

"Well, there's some people who aren't here yet," Charlie replied. "Kate, Sawyer, Ana…there's plenty of people."

"I don't want _Sawyer _to raise my child!" Claire exclaimed, distressed.

"Don't worry about it," Charlie said soothingly. "We're okay, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Claire mumbled.

"So Aaron will be okay too."

"I hope you're right," Claire whispered.

"I am," Charlie said. "Don't worry."

Claire smiled at him, and then they both turned to watch the sunset once again.

"Hey…" Claire said. "Shannon and Boone…aren't they brother and sister?"

Charlie glanced over at the supposed siblings, who were cuddling by the water, sharing a sundae. He looked back at Claire and shrugged.

"Hope not," he said. Suddenly, something hit him on the head. It didn't hurt, but he felt it all the same. He glanced over and saw Boone glaring at him, but smiling.

"Mind your own business," the other man said, his voice carrying easily over the distance separating them. Charlie promptly flipped him off. Claire sighed somewhat happily. It was just like being alive.

* * *

Kate remained kneeling by Sawyer's body for a long time, just staring at him and hoping that somehow, he would jump up and start laughing about how bad he fooled her. She knew, however, that he was dead for good. 

She sat back against the wall, finally breaking down and hiding her face in her hands. She was alone. She _hated _being alone. Looking around, she never felt so cramped in her life. Outside, she heard people talking. She knew it was the Others.

She picked up the letter and raised the lighter, flicking it open and watching the letter burn slowly. She laid it down on the stone next to him, watching it burn out. Then, she kneeled beside Sawyer and kissed his dead lips once more. Then, she slowly bent over and picked up the gun, getting it ready to fire. She knew she was going down, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Less than ten minutes later, Kate lay dead next to Sawyer.

* * *

Ana stood in the clearing, looking all around her. Everyone was dead. Everyone. The Others and her people; all gone. She looked around for one particular body, and smiled sadly when she saw it. Jack looked peaceful, almost serene. She thought back to when she had first met him in the airport in Sydney. It seemed like so long. She quietly knelt by his side and tried to ignore the tears gathering behind her eyelids. She couldn't cry. Ana-Lucia Cortez did not cry. 

Instead, she reached out a trembling hand and gently closed his eyes. Then, she lingered for a few moments more, and stood up, looking around again. She knew that not all of the Others were dead. There had to be more somewhere. She moved around in a circle, looking for the woman who she knew was lying nearby. Danielle. Bending down, she slowly took off the dead woman's backpack and shouldered it, and then took her rifle from her side. Standing up, she surveyed the scene. She would burn the bodies. All except Jack and Danielle. They would be buried very near her hiding place. They deserved better.

Turning towards the trees, she walked slowly into them. It was her turn to be the island's soul survivor. The load had passed on to another.

* * *

In the hatch, all was silent except for the sound of the footsteps of the Others as they checked over the bodies. Suddenly, a baby began to cry. 

"Over here," said one of the Others, a tall lanky man with black hair. Another man, older and with gray hair, bent down next to the dead woman and picked up the bundle in her arms. It was a child.

"What do we do with it?" another woman asked. The man looked at the child. As heartless as he was, he was not heartless enough to kill a child.

"We'll keep it," he said. "Raise it."

The woman nodded, and they walked back down the tunnel.

* * *

Ana walked down the beach, looking at all the bodies scattered about. She saw some of her people, but most of them were the other survivors. Shannon's body lay inBoone's grave, along with its original occupant, and Sayid lay a few feet away. The Other who had killed them hadn't gotten far before Vincent had attacked him. Vincent was lying dead too, with his teeth clenched around the Other's neck. A fiercely loyal dog, apparently. 

Ana walked away and turned to go into the woods, leaving the sad sight behind. She would have to learn to move on if she was going to survive. She walked slowly into the woods, listening for any sound of the others.

Then, she heard a baby crying.

* * *

Kate awoke on the beach, in her shelter. She groaned and sat up, then jerked with surprise and backed against the wall. For a moment, she thought that it had all been a dream, before she noticed that the marshal was standing right in front of her. 

"Hey, Kate," he said with a grin. Kate stared at him, unsure of what to say. Was she still dreaming.

"Umm…" she said slowly.

"Bet you never thought you'd have to see me again, huh?" he asked with a smirk. "Well…that's just the way things are, I guess. How you been?"

He laughed at his own little joke and shook his head.

"What the Hell is going on?" Kate asked, standing up.

"You're dead, Katie," he said. "Didn't you notice?"

Then it all came back to her. Sawyer…the cave, the Other with the disgusting teeth…

"Oh my God," she said.

"Yeah," the marshal said, grinning. "Guess you did get away, huh?"

"Guess I did," Kate said weakly. He laughed and walked out, leaving her alone.

She remained there for a little while longer before Sawyer walked in, whistling and looking unbelievably happy.

"Hey," he said to her casually. "There you are. Christ, you lasted longer than I thought you would."

"Sawyer," Kate said laughingly. "Good to see you too."

"Yeah, well…hasn't been all that long."

"Yeah," Kate said, not bothering to tell him that it had been _too _long as far as she was concerned.

Sawyer sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, grinning at her.

"Talked to Jacko," he said. "Told him what happened. He wasn't too happy about that part about the kiss, but what can you do?"

Kate shook her head.

"Even dead, you're the same guy," she said.

"You're taking this thing remarkably well," Sawyer remarked. "Hell, I was sitting around for damn near twenty minutes convinced that the whole thing was a dream."

"Well, I have a feeling that it wasn't a dream," Kate said. "Besides, I'm not exactly what you'd call unreligious."

"You wouldn't know it," Sawyer said with a smirk. "I was talkin' to Metro earlier…"

"Metro?" Kate asked. Her face lit up. "Boone?"

"Yeah," Sawyer said. He shook his head. "That kid was downright cocky. I like him a lot better than I did before."

"Well, that's good," Kate said, smiling. "I think I'd like to talk to Boone. I've missed him."

"Yeah," Sawyer said. Kate could detect a hint of jealousy. She grinned at him and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Now come on, let's go see the others."

* * *

Danielle awoke in the forest, at the crash sight of her old team. For a long, strange moment, she thought that the entire sixteen years she had been on the island were all a dream. She stood up and walked to the mirror that she had nailed to a tree all those years back. She gasped with surprise when she saw that she was no longer old, but young once again. She looked just as she had when she crashed on the island. 

"Mom?"

Danielle whirled around, her mouth opening in surprise when she saw the girl standing in front of her. She looked around fifteen years old, maybe younger, and was wearing clothes that resembled the kind of thing that that girl Shannon would wear.

"Alex?" Danielle asked. Alex smiled and ran to her mother, throwing her arms around her neck.

"Mom, I've missed you," she said.

"Alex, what happened?" Danielle asked, practically sobbing with joy.

"They took me away and tried to make me one of them," Alex said. "Then I fell off a cliff and died when I was thirteen. I've been here since then."

"Dead?" Danielle asked. Suddenly, she remembered. She remembered the plane crash and Sayid and the Others' attack…She gasped and her eyes widened.

"But…"

"Danielle?"

Danielle whirled around. She felt tears creeping to her eyes.

"Robert," she whispered. He walked forward and slowly opened the music box in his hands. Their song began to play. She ran to him and flung her arms around his neck.

"I've been waiting sixteen years, my darling," he whispered to her. "Finally, you are here."

Danielle couldn't speak. She just held onto Robert and sobbed as the rest of her team gathered around and smiled. They all forgave her. They didn't blame her. They knew why she had killed them.

"It's all right," Robert said. "We forgive you."

Danielle clutched him and sobbed, as La Mer rang through her mind.

* * *

Ana walked into the trees, frowning with thought. The baby sounded closer. She walked forward, and then saw it. It was lying on the ground, crying. There was a dead man holding it. Ana recognized it as Claire's baby, Aaron. 

The man's eyes and mouth were open in horror. There were several Others all around him, with similar expressions on their faces. Ana ignored them and picked up the child.

"Shh," she said gently, and the baby stopped crying. She smiled at it. "Hey, kid. Guess mommy didn't make it, huh?"

She started walking again talking to Aaron and holding him in her arms with a smile on her face.

* * *

Claire smiled to herself and opened her eyes. 

"What is it?" Charlie asked, grinning at her.

"Ana found Aaron," she said. "He's okay."

"That's good," Charlie said, smiling. "He'll be along one day."

"I know," Claire said, shrugging. "We've got forever, after all. It shouldn't be that long in the grand scale of things."

"I think I'm gonna like it here," Charlie said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Me too," Claire said happily. Charlie smiled at her and kissed her, and this time the kiss didn't end for a very long time.

* * *

That night, all the former survivors gathered around a fire, talking about what had happened to them. Rather than a somber conversation, it was a rather lighthearted one. After all, their deaths had led them to paradise. There was no place they would rather be. They would be happy forever, finally. For many of them, it was really the first time they had ever been truly happy.

* * *

Run, hide, or die. It didn't matter. All paths led to the same place. What Danielle didn't know when she gave that warning was that all paths led to Heaven. The island brought them there to redeem themselves, and all of them did it quite nicely. 

Without the island, none of them would have found their happy ending. With it, all of them found what they were looking for. It was only a matter of time before the island selected another group of people to help. And when that time came, Ana-Lucia would be there to help them, and the same cycle would begin again.


End file.
